United States Postal Service (USPS) approved postage meters for use by businesses and individuals have long been a staple in United States commerce. Typical postage meters commercially available from companies such as Pitney Bowes of Stamford, Connecticut, are capable of weighing a particular item to be mailed and printing a USPS approved postal indicia in the dollar amount required based on the postal service class (parcel post, first class, etc.) desired. A popular example of a conventional postage meter is the Pitney Bowes Model 5630, whose function and modes of operation are fully described in its Operating Guide, which is incorporated herein by reference. The postal indicia, used in lieu of a stamp, have conventionally been printed on a self-adhesive strip or directly on a letter to be mailed. Conventional postage meters include a postal security device that maintains an accounting of available postage, purchased from the USPS or other third parties, within the meter. The available postage can be replenished mechanically or electronically in various increments through the USPS or other approved third parties as required by the user.
With the advent of the personal computer and accessories available for use therewith, business and individuals conveniently prepare correspondence, which include mailing address information, through a variety of commercially available word processing software packages and computer printers that function therewith. One convenient accessory available for use with word processing systems involves the automated preparation of mailing address labels. Such label preparation systems, for example the CoStar Labelwriter XL printer and CoStar AddressMate software available from the CoStar Corporation of Greenwich, Connecticut, are capable of identifying address data from a computer data file representing an intended correspondence, formatted, for example, by various popular word processing packages such as Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word. The CoStar label preparation system can format and print mailing address labels based on the data contained in a data file representing an intended correspondence, or, alternatively, address information for preparation of mailing labels can be directly input into a computer system independent of a data file representing an intended correspondence. The function and modes of operation of the exemplary CoStar printer and software are detailed in the CoStar User Manual for AddressMate and AddressMate Plus and User Manual for Labelwriter XL printer, incorporated herein by reference.
While the above-mentioned postage meters and label printing systems are known, it has not been previously known to produce computer generated labels grouped to provide associated address and postal indicia for a single piece of mail. That is, it has not been known to combine the advantages of a postage meter with the advantages afforded by known mailing label generation systems. The USPS in October 1996 published a draft specification of Information Based Indicia Program Host Systems which establishes guidelines for preparation of such combined address and postage labels.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide computer generated labels grouped such that address information and an associate postal indicia can be printed in a unitary manner for use on an item to be mailed, in compliance with USPS specifications. It is a farther object of this invention to provide a system and method for generating mailing labels having associated address information and postal indicia for an item to be mailed grouped in a unitary manner, in compliance with USPS specifications. Further objects and improvements associated with the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the description of the preferred embodiments detailed below.